The high cost, long lead time, and difficult licensing procedures associated with large nuclear power plants in this decade, combined with low system load growth, has led to renewed interest in smaller nuclear power plants. Smaller plants more closely fit the growth pattern and require less total capital to get the required generating capacity on the line.
Smaller plants must, however, achieve lower cost per kilowatt and be more reliable than heretofore provided, to be accepted. Simply stated, the smaller plant must be extremely reliable; be demonstrably, convincingly safe; have unit capital cost (cost/MWe) only slightly higher than large nuclear plants; and have a low development cost. These requirements, when applied to the design of a small pressurized water reactor mean that the reactor coolant system should, among other features, possess the characteristics of simplicity, compactness, accessibility for inspectors and maintenance, capability of employing hermetically sealed pumps, capability of low power on natural circulation, no core uncovery curing a small loss of coolant event, and make use of proven components.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact nuclear reactor steam generator that will be extremely reliable and safe, with a compact reactor coolant system using hermetically sealed pumps directly attached to the steam generator channel head.